Long-Term Care for Your Data

摘要

Long-term data storage isn't getting any easier, despite the evolution of storage media. Once, documents were moved to microfiche or stowed away in boxes, and retrieving them meant scrolling through film or sorting through paper archives. Today the challenge is managing digital media to ensure that your storage hardware can access your data years from now. The key is a long-term storage policy that's planned and executed with legal and company goals in mind. The plan should address every possible problem, from IT staff turnover to technology changes to data-retention requirements. The human element is often overlooked. When IT staffers change jobs, for instance, important data might get lost in the shuffle, especially if records haven't been well-documented or if the data's physical location hasn't been tracked. On the technology side, you need to select a storage medium―tape, CD or DVD, for instance―that will last long term and is easy to use when it's time to access your archives.